I've been testing a few different waist cooling fans, and recently had one of them apart, so I thought I'd post some pics.
The pics below just show the inside of one of my fans, which is a 20000mAh dual blower waist fan. The batteries are each 134268 10000mAh 3.7v Lion cells (13x42x68mm), with two cells wired in parallel, and then the two packs connected to the board (total of 4 cells). This would be a 2P/2S arrangement, and it is nice to see, since it looks like a legitimate 20000mAh pack (though I did not test the capacity). I can say though that the runtime is several hours on high at least, and I suspect it would probably run at least 8h and maybe close to double that (it should be a 37x4w pack, and the load is probably less than 9w, but there will be loss due to the boost converter).
As for the output, it is better than the single fan models, but is also heavier. In practice, I'd say it feels maybe 50% more powerful than the single fan model (which has a smaller battery), which is just my subjective opinion. I honestly don't mind picking up the single fan model if the dual fan is charging, they both work well enough. In either case, the tiny fans put out an impressive amount of air, but they are a bit loud on high (like a hair dryer on low). The runtime should be a bit better on the dual fan model vs the single fan version, but probably not by much. If you consider buying one of these, make sure to verify the battery sizes though. The dual fan version should have a 20000mAh battery, and the single fan version should be 10000mAh (I have seen some dual fan models sold with smaller 10000mAh batteries).
When wearing these on a belt, the weight disappears after a while. But one problem with all the waist fans I have tried so far (which is 3 versions), is that the clip for holding the fan under a shirt does not keep the tail of the shirt held very well. They use smooth metal clips to clip to the shirt on one side and the belt on the other, so I suspect it may wear a shirt down over time. I think possibly adding some fabric tape to the clip, or possibly even the shirt may help with that though.
I have a few different types of these types of cooling fans, and aside from one of them which I sent back, they all do the job. I have tested a couple vest type fans as well, and just a tip if considering those, go at least a size larger than you wear. I have a 3x vest and it feels like a 2x. I think the waist fans cool a bit better than the vests though, as long as the shirt can stay clipped in place. I may post a review of the several I versions I have tested in the future. For work outdoors in hot weather though, these types of devices are really nice to have, despite the drawbacks (bulk, weight and sometimes having to be readjusted).
The links posted here are to amazon listings to the same products I am testing out (my affiliate links), but you can shop around on AliExpress, and find the same things usually cheaper (though shipping is usually slower).
The pics below just show the inside of one of my fans, which is a 20000mAh dual blower waist fan. The batteries are each 134268 10000mAh 3.7v Lion cells (13x42x68mm), with two cells wired in parallel, and then the two packs connected to the board (total of 4 cells). This would be a 2P/2S arrangement, and it is nice to see, since it looks like a legitimate 20000mAh pack (though I did not test the capacity). I can say though that the runtime is several hours on high at least, and I suspect it would probably run at least 8h and maybe close to double that (it should be a 37x4w pack, and the load is probably less than 9w, but there will be loss due to the boost converter).
As for the output, it is better than the single fan models, but is also heavier. In practice, I'd say it feels maybe 50% more powerful than the single fan model (which has a smaller battery), which is just my subjective opinion. I honestly don't mind picking up the single fan model if the dual fan is charging, they both work well enough. In either case, the tiny fans put out an impressive amount of air, but they are a bit loud on high (like a hair dryer on low). The runtime should be a bit better on the dual fan model vs the single fan version, but probably not by much. If you consider buying one of these, make sure to verify the battery sizes though. The dual fan version should have a 20000mAh battery, and the single fan version should be 10000mAh (I have seen some dual fan models sold with smaller 10000mAh batteries).
When wearing these on a belt, the weight disappears after a while. But one problem with all the waist fans I have tried so far (which is 3 versions), is that the clip for holding the fan under a shirt does not keep the tail of the shirt held very well. They use smooth metal clips to clip to the shirt on one side and the belt on the other, so I suspect it may wear a shirt down over time. I think possibly adding some fabric tape to the clip, or possibly even the shirt may help with that though.
I have a few different types of these types of cooling fans, and aside from one of them which I sent back, they all do the job. I have tested a couple vest type fans as well, and just a tip if considering those, go at least a size larger than you wear. I have a 3x vest and it feels like a 2x. I think the waist fans cool a bit better than the vests though, as long as the shirt can stay clipped in place. I may post a review of the several I versions I have tested in the future. For work outdoors in hot weather though, these types of devices are really nice to have, despite the drawbacks (bulk, weight and sometimes having to be readjusted).
The links posted here are to amazon listings to the same products I am testing out (my affiliate links), but you can shop around on AliExpress, and find the same things usually cheaper (though shipping is usually slower).
Update - I added some fabric repair patch to the areas where the clip attaches to a shirt tail, and wrapped some around the metal clip as well. The hold seems much better now, but I still need to test this. The tape sticks really well to the plastic (and also to fabric), though I'm not sure how heat affects it, hopefully it will last.
Update 2 - The fabric repair tape on the steel tabs pretty much solves the problem of the shirt getting pulled out of the clip. I have been using both the dual and single fan belt fans several times each now, and they don't do miracles, but they do help when working outside in the heat. Now if they could add a Thermo Electric Cooler (TEC), and get a runtime of a couple hours that would be even better, but that is not gonna happen with today's battery tech (TEC's need way too much power, and would also require another fan to remove the heat from the TEC).
Update 2 - The fabric repair tape on the steel tabs pretty much solves the problem of the shirt getting pulled out of the clip. I have been using both the dual and single fan belt fans several times each now, and they don't do miracles, but they do help when working outside in the heat. Now if they could add a Thermo Electric Cooler (TEC), and get a runtime of a couple hours that would be even better, but that is not gonna happen with today's battery tech (TEC's need way too much power, and would also require another fan to remove the heat from the TEC).
RSS Feed
